The year was 1981 when I purchased my first Apple IIe computer. As a
visual artist, I was intrigued with the possibilities of transferring my
knowledge of drawing and painting to the computer screen. Learning to
draw at an early age, I felt confident that my skills would contribute
to the success of my newfound computer literacy. WRONG!

The arduous task of learning to program a simple circle on the computer
soon convinced me that computer graphics were far behind the
capabilities of a human hand. Seventeen years later, computer
limitations in the area of drawing and painting have not appreciably
improved. Although the intricacies of computer programming have been
disguised for the neophyte user, the actual end product is still sorely
lacking in the areas of drawing and painting techniques. The computer
continues to generate a pseudo artifact.

The quality of a hand-drawn line is virtually impossible to achieve when
using the computer instrument called a "mouse." The process involves
moving the mouse around on a flat padded surface, and trying desperately
to keep a steady line going where you want it to on the computer screen
where there is no contact to be made with the human hand. This lack of
human contact, alone, produces an artificial and limited approach to the
drawing process.

This tail-wagging-the-dog effect of technology has not only inhibited
the natural drawing process, but has imposed its own physical
limitations on the entire field of drawing and painting in the
traditional sense. The human hand is now subjected to the limitations of
the computer mouse not the other way round. Consequently, computer
drawings and paintings are subject to the limitations of current
technologies to the detriment of the drawing and painting process. This
unnatural behavior results in inferior renderings which have become (out
of ignorance) acceptable to the general populace.
The artificial line control, and pseudo painting techniques developed
for computer use are a far cry from what can be produced by traditional
drawing and painting methods of instruction. When children learn to
draw, they use their own nervous system to transfer images to a sheet of
drawing paper under their hand. Whether using a pencil, pen, or brush,
this requires a sensitivity and control completely foreign to the
computer mouse and drawing tablet.

Drawing with a computer mouse is somewhat like drawing by looking into
a mirror. There is no direct contact with what one is attempting to draw
or paint. The quality of line is set by the limitations of the computer
program. There is little evidence that even with a pressure pen, one can
achieve the quality of thick and thin line of the Chinese brush stroke.

The jittery line produced with most computer mice is caused by the
limitations of the mouse, not the artist. The mouse does not react to
the sensitivity of the human nervous system. On the contrary, the human
nervous system must continually adjust to the limitations of the machine
resulting in an artificial rendering at best.

After testing Disney's "MAGIC ARTIST," I questioned the company's claim
that this was "The Ultimate Art Studio That Lets You Create Like A
Disney Artist." In fact, no Disney animators use this program to create
the cell animations for any of their feature productions. It would be
virtually impossible to get the unique line flow of a Disney animated
character with such a program.

What "Magic Artist," like other "paint" programs, offers is nothing
more than a built-in set of prescribed lines, textures, and color
palette from which to choose. The child is left to manipulate rather
than to create images of his or her choosing, bypassing all traditional
methods of visual arts instruction.
The artificial look of computer draw and paint programs tends to
emphasize the current limitations of computer programming which
contributes nothing to necessary process/skills development in the
visual arts. In fact, these programs are inhibitors of the natural
drawing and painting process.

By forcing children to buckle to the limitations of a computer mouse
does little to develop the necessary visual awareness necessary to art
production as a whole. What these programs encourage is a slavish
adherence to a prescribed formula approach to drawing and painting.

Allowing children access to the mouse before the pen or brush, sets an
artificial standard of acceptance that directly inhibits a child's
natural progress toward learning traditional drawing and painting
techniques. The most insidious element of the insensitive mouse is its
propensity toward false ease of use. Once activated, a child can
scribble with the mouse to his or her heart's content without once
questioning the quality of the shape and form. Once enamoured by the
effects produced with the mouse, it is difficult to wean a child away
from the novelty of a computer-driven program.

What a child needs to learn is to draw what one sees rather than what
one remembers! It is this store of memories that produces sensitive
recollections of past experiences; experiences that cannot be produced
by working directly with computer-driven draw and paint programs.

Children must be exposed to the use of the primary, secondary, and
complimentary colors in order to be able to manipulate color. This is
accomplished by using watercolor based tempera paint; not by
manipulating a computerized and prescribed color palette. Children need
the hands-on experience of mixing color in order to appreciate the
effect.

When a child draws from the environment, he or she comes into direct
contact with what is out there; not subjected to a blank artificial
electronic window. Experiencing three dimensions of an environment
should be made real not virtual. The computer mouse experience is after
the fact.

When we allow technology to downgrade the human experience, we must ask
the question: "Why?" Computer technology has alleviated repetitive
office tasks, and has afforded graphic artists release from
time-consuming page layouts, paste-ups, and typesetting chores. But
computer graphics programs and equipment have yet to match the
sensitivity of the human nervous system. The elegant line drawing of a
Hirschfeld is yet to be accomplished with a mouse or pressure-sensitive
pen.

We must begin to recognize that Drawing and Painting is still in the
domain of a human artist, not in the domain of a computer. When children
are exposed to the legitimate processes and skills of drawing and
painting, they will be in a better position to recognize the difference
between computer-generated imagery and the real thing.